Grapevine Beetle

Description:

This was an interesting beetle we found lounging on the front porch. I've never seen a tan one this big before. This is also known as the Spotted June Beetle or the Spotted Pelidnota.

Habitat:

Per Wikipedia: The beetle lives in the eastern coast of North America, as well as Florida, Nebraska and north western Missouri, and has been found in central Indiana, Minnesota, southern Wisconsin, and southwestern Ontario. Also just found in northwestern Kentucky, Illinois, Maryland, New York, and western Pennsylvania. It lives, like many beetles, in forests, thickets, and woods, and is mostly seen during the summer. Active flyers, these beetles are commonly attracted to lights at night. It is also seen in vineyards and gardens. The adult beetle eats the leaves and fruit of grapevines, both wild and cultivated, although it is not normally a major pest of vineyards. Beetle eggs are laid in rotten wood, tree stumps, or on soil near the host plant, where they hatch into larvae. Larvae then dig their way into the soil, where they feed on rotted wood. Pupal chambers are built shallowly underground. The adults emerge in July.